Public Engagement Fund (2022-23)

The Public Engagement Fund supports that improve public understanding of the use of data in research.

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About the fund

The 2022-23 round of the Public Engagement Fund was a pilot to test interest and evaluate proposed projects. Originally capped at £40,000, RDS increased the total amount of funding available to support a wider range of top-quality projects, which reached various audiences across Scotland.

A total of £56,856 was awarded to projects that help widen participation by involving and engaging members of the public who may not usually interact with data science to take an interest and have a voice.

The aims of the Public Engagement Fund were to:

Promote the public understanding of data research in Scotland
Provide balanced information on data research
Widen participation by involving and engaging members of the public who may not usually interact with science to take an interest and have a voice in data science
Achieve clear and measurable impact.

Funded projects (2022-23)

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How Fair is North-East Scotland?

Grampian Regional Equality Council worked to deliver a series of workshops with minority ethnic community groups in Aberdeen.

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Data Linkage

SHINE worked with young people, parents/carers and teachers to produce video and infographic materials around data linkage.

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Two people facing away from the camera are sticking post-it notes onto a long sheet of paper. The paper has notes from a discussion about data written and illustrated on it

My Data

This project carried out focus groups with people who use drugs to explore perceptions of the use of administrative data in research.

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Generation Scotland

Linking to their longitudinal study on family health and wellbeing, Generation Scotland created resources to engage the public at large-scale events.

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Mental Health - Imagining Beyond

Through a series of workshops, this project focused on identifying gaps where data may not reflect lived experiences.

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Two teenage boys sit, facing away from the camera and looking at a laptop running the game Minecraft

Data in Biological Research

This project is using Minecraft to empower young people to explore pandemic preparedness and how large-scale data can be used to inform policy.

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Perinatal Mental Health

Building on population-wide statistical analysis, this project generated resources around perinatal mental health timelines.

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Digital Citizen Research Project

People Know How trained five volunteers to become citizen researchers and deepen the field of research around digital inclusion.

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Note: Funding from the RDS Public Engagement Fund was also awarded to CodeClan, an Edinburgh-based digital skills academy, which has since sadly entered liquidation and ceased trading. The project therefore may not be able to continue.

Public Engagement Fund returns for second year

Research Data Scotland (RDS) has announced the return of its Public Engagement Fund to support projects that improve public understanding of the use of data in research.

31 Jul 2024

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